Gri    2766 


Duke  University  Libraries 


D03209814R 


I 

MEMOEIA-LS 

respectfully  addressed  to  the  congress  of  the 

CONFEDERATE  STATES. 

\ 


It  is  stated  in  tha  Northern  pnpers  that  the  Federal  Government  is 
constructing  a  large  number  of  iron  gun-boats,  of  great  breadth  of  beam 
and  which  will  only  draw  from  3  to  8  feet  water,  with  the  view,  during 
the  ensuing  Avinter,  of  penetrating  the  tributaries  of  our  large  rivers. 
We  have  still  deep  rivers  which  require   defense,  and  the  Mississippi, 
of  which  it  is  urgent  to  secure   partial  possession,  and   if  possible  to 
resume  our  occupancy  of  its  whole   navi^tion.     If  we  could  not,  or 
at  least  as  we  did  not  construct  forts,  ariV  arm.  vessels  to  secure  our 
former  occupancy  when    we  were  in   uninterrupted  possession  of  that 
navigation,  our  future  opportunities  must  be  comparatively  limited,  if 
relying  only  on  these  means  of  defense.      We  know   that  the  Federal 
Government  are  now    constructing    numerous   iron-plate  1   vessels,  of 
much  greater  strength  than   those  first  used,  and  carrying  guns  of  a 
calibre  hitherto  unknown  for  such  service.     There   was,  however,  one 
means  of  defense  heretofore  neglected,  equally  applicable  to  deep  and 
shallow  waters,  ami  equally  formidable  to  the  lightest  iron-plated  boat, 
•  and  to  the  most  solid  of  these  new  leviathans,  viz  :   the  use  of  sunken 
•charges  of  powder,  fired  by  the  galvanic  battery,  and  commonly  called 
Torpedoes.     These  at  least  should  be  used  as  adjuncts  to  every  other 
system  of  river  defense,  where  the  latter  are  practicable,  and  oflfer  the 
further  advantage  on  a  long  river  like  the  Mississippi,  of  being  appli- 
cable where  available  forts  cannot  be  constructed,  nor  floating  defenses 
launched,  able  to  compete  vath  our  adversaries.    This — providing  time 
and  expense  were  no  object — but,  presenting  this  farther  favorable  fea- 
ture, that,  carried  out  on  an   effective  scale,  it  does  not  involve  a  per 
centage  of  the  expense  of  either  of  the  other  systems  of  defense. 

Two  questions  in  this  connection  naturally  arise  :  Have  we  the 
material  and  the  competent  skill  ?  Is  this  Torpedo  system  really  ef- 
fective, and  where  has  it  been  tried  ? 

To  impress  conviction  on  the  minds  of  those  whom  your  memorial- 
ist has  the  honor  of  addressing,  as  to  the  feasibility  of  this  scheme, 
or  of  its  being  at  least  worthy  of  their  serious  attention,  he  must  beg 
them  to  follow  him  in  a  brief  history  of  the  subject  matter,  and  of  his 
personal  experience  thereof. 

The  Torpedo,  which  is  nothing  but  a  charge  of  powder,  contained 
in  an  iron,  tin,  or   wooden   waterproof  vessel,  to   be  exploded  under 


ships,  was  revived  in  :i  more  in<:^enious  form  b^v  Fnltoii,  and. Johnson, 
(with  the  latter  jour  memorialist,  was  personally  acquainted,  and 
who  showed  me  his  plans,  and  explained  to  me  his  views  thereof)  at 
the  close  of  the  last,  or  beginning  of  the  presetit  century.  They  ob- 
tained for  this  invention  an  award  of  XlH, ()("()  from  the  British  go- 
vernment, and  models  of  some  of  their  Torpedoes  arc  still  exhibited  at 
the  Kotunda  at  Woolwich.  One  of  these,  by  means  of  clockwork. 
Would  explode  at  any  given  time.  Others,  intended  to  be  moored  in 
rivers,  were  devised  to  ignite  by  means  of  triggers,  when  the  bows  vr 
sides  of  vessels  touched  against  them,  or  fastened  two  together  by  a 
line  or  rope,  were  intended  to  be  launched,  down  stream  against  ves- 
sels that  were  ascending  or  lying  at  anchor,  so  that  if  any  portion  of 
the  line  struck  the  vessel's  cutwater,  the  two  Torpedoes  (or  one  of 
them)  would  be  drifted  by  the  current  against  the  sides  of  the  vessel, 
and  thereby  the  action,  if  only  very  slight  waves,  ignited  by  the  triggers 
with  which  it  was  provided,  bumping  against  the  s^les.  It  was  abun- 
dantly proven,  by  various  experiments,  that  a  very  small  charge  of 
powder,  fired  under  a  vessel,  immediately  destroyed  her.  Amongst 
others,  I  recollect  seeing  the  drawings  an'd  report  of  a  vessel  destroy- 
ed in  the  Medway,  by  Capt.  Johnson,  in  presence  of  the  Duke  of 
York,  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  British  army,  and  which  report 
was  verified  by  the  Duke's  signature.  A  very  small  charge  fired  un- 
der this  vessel  entirely  broHfe  her  up,  and  she  sank  almost  as  quickly 
as  by  the  explosion  of  a  powder  magazine.  But  these  and  other  Tor- 
pedoes, though  subsequently  tried  in  various  forms,  and  in  different 
places,  Avere  never  (or  only  very  partially)  successful,  from  these  two 
great  difficulties :  first,  getting  them  into  the  right  place,  and  second- 
ly, exj)loding  them  at  the  right  time.  The  vessel  to  be  destroyed  had 
to  come  to  the  Torpedo,  or  the  Torpedo  to  the  vessel;  somehow  it  was  very 
rare  that  the  vessel  was  so  accommodating,  and  for  the  Torpedo  to  go  to 
the  vessel  partook  too  much  of  the  "  bdli/ig-thc-cat "  to  be  a  very  practical 
operation.  The  difficulty  of  igniting  with  certainty  and  at  will,  was,  • 
however,  practically  the  most  formidable.  This  obstacle  was,  howev-  , 
er,  removed  by  the  discovery  or  invention  of  conveying  the  galvanic 
spark,  so  as  to  ignite  charges  below  water.  Professor  Jacobi,  of  St, 
Petersburgh,  claimed  to  be  the  inventor  of  this  method,  and  was  re- 
warded as  such,  by  the  Russian  Government. 

About  the  year  184U,  I  saw  him  at  the  house  of  Gen.  Schilders, 
Chief  of  Engineers  in  the  Russian  army,  on  Petrowski  Island,  near 
St.  Petersburg!!,  and  in  the  delta  of  the  Neva,  make  experiments  in 
presence  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas  in  igniting  submarine  charges. 
They  were  placed  under  the  ice,  at  various  distances,  some  exceeding 
half- a  mile,  and  the  wires  conveyed  into  the  room  where  the  experi- 
menting party  was  assembled.  To  the  best  of  my  recollection,  not 
more  than  two  out  of  every  ten  of  these  charges  exploded  on  the  first 
attempt  to  fire  them.  Gen.  Paisley,  of  the  British  Engineers,  disco- 
vered, or  had  the  credit  of  discovering,  that  charges  of  powder  laid  on 
the  top  of  a  submarine  rock  would  blast  it,  and  he  extensively  used 
the  galvanic  battery  for  the  purpose  of  igniting  them,  but  as  it  was 
of  very  little  consequence   in   these   operations,  whether  his  charge 


•was  fired  after  one  or  several  trials,  no  great  progress  was  made  in  at- 
taining certainty  of  firing  at  the  first  attempt.  I  found,  however,  that 
various  illiterate  miners,  quite  unacquainted  with  the  theory  of  the 
instrument  they  were  using,  had  obtained  perfect  certainty  of 
ignition. 

About  1852,  Mr.  Julius  Krohl,  a  Prussian  Engineer,  after  much 
study  and  experimentalization,  (undertaken  at  the  suggestion,  of  your 
memorialist),  obtained  thi#  certainty  of  ignition.  He  took  and  suc- 
cessfully executed,  in  New  York,  and  in  several  of  the  Canadian 
and  "West  India  harbors,  contracts  for  the  removal,  by  blasting  of  sub- 
marine reefs.  Amongst  others  he  removed  the  Vanderbilt  Rock  in 
the  North  river,  and  also,  the  Diamond  Reef,  opposite  Governor's 
Island,  New  York.  During  many  months  spent  in  these  operations, 
he  (exploded  every  day,  many  charges,  varying  from  one  to  60(l  pounds 
each.  He  had  obtained  an  average  certainty  of  explosion  of  98  out 
of  100.  He  took  (also,  at  the  suggestion  of  your  memorialist,)  as  a 
pupil.  Captain  Henry  Bolton,  whom,  after  a  certain  coarse  of  instruc- 
lioji  and  experiments,  he  pronounced  to  be  as. perfect  an  adept  in  this 
art.  as  himself.  Probably  from  taking  greater  care,  Bolton's  average 
was  still  higher. 

When  the  United  States  Government  sent  a  Naval  expedition  to 
Paraguay,  Mr.  Krohl,  who  had  satisfactorily  fulfilled  many  contracts 
for  the  Kavy  and  other  departments,  was  called  on  to  furnish  several 
galvanic  batteries,  but  ft  was  found,  after  these  v.ere  procured,  that 
there  was  no  one,  at  that  time,  either  in  the  Engineer,  Artillery,  or 
Naval  corps,  sufficiiently  conversant  with  their  use  to  manage  them. 
The  Navy  Department,  therefore,  applied  to  Mr.  Krohl,  to  provide 
some  person  who  could  give  instruction  or  undertake  the  practical 
management  of  the  same.  Mr.  Krohl  replied  that  ho  did  not  know 
any  one  in  the  United  States,  except  himself  and  Capt.  Bolton,  who, 
however,  declined  this  offer.  Although  tho  theory  and  construction 
of  the  galvanic  battery,  as  applied  to  igniting  submarine  charges  is 
known  to  most  scientific  men,  and  to  many  intelligent  ofiicers  of  En- 
gineers and  Artillery  in  most  services,  the  practical  use  C'f  the  same 
is  very  rare,  as  may  be  judged  from  the  fiict  that  neither  Professor  Ja- 
cobi,  the  alleged  inventor,  nor  Gen.  Paisley,  who  applied  it  to  new  uses, 
had  much  skill  in  its  management.  To  attiiin  this,  it  was  necessary 
for  "any  person  desirous  of  becoming  proficient,  to  go  through  the 
whole  process,  from  the  preparation  of  the  wire  in  the  work-shop,  to 
its  final  application,  under  the  guidance  of  an  instructor,  already  him- 
self a  proficient  in  its  practical  use.  Mere  theory,  or  book  know- 
ledge would  no  more  enable  him  to  ignite  his  charge  with  certainty, 
than  the  discoveries  of  Liobig,  in  Organic  Chemistry,  to  cook  proper- 
ly a  beef-steak,  which  it  was  a  very  easy  thing  for  any  good  cook  to 
accomplish,  who  had  never  even  heard  of  Chemistry. 

It  will  be  readily  perceived  that  in  using  the  galvanic  wire  in  firing 
a  torpedo  or  sunken  charge,  two  things  are  required:  firstly,  that  it 
should  be  sure  To  go  ofl,  an<l  secondly,  that  it  should  go  off  at  the  first 
attempt,  because  before  this  attempt  could  be  renewed,  the  vessel  in 
motion  would  have  passed  beyond  the  danger.     Both  of  these  requi- 


sites  Captain  Bolton  combines.  He  alleges  that  in  a  very  few  weeks 
he  could  teach  intelliprcnt  people  to  carry  out  the  practical  portions  of 
this  arc  quite  efficiently.  Ho  is  now  in  the  Confcfleracy,  l^-t  Lieuten- 
ant of  infantry  in  the  regular  array  of  the  Confederate  States,  and 
detailed  for  engineer  duty,  which  he  has  performed  in  Western  Vir- 
ginia, on  Roanoke  Island,  in  North  Carolina,  on  the  Peninsula,  and 
about  Richmond.  Your  memorialist  has  known  hira  for  many  years 
as  a  most  reliable  gentleman,  and  he  haatcued  to  offer  his  services 
to  the  South,  immediately  on  the  secession  of  South  Carolina.  lie 
has  further  ascertained  that  all  the  material  for  the  construction  of  the 
galvanic  battery  is  procurable  within  the  Confederacy. 

Certainty  of  ignition  and  the  proper  isolation  of  the  wire  (so  that 
they  may  be  kept  for  months  in  an  operative  condition)  being  obtain- 
ed, remains  the  question  as  to  how  rivers  may  be  defended  by  means 
of  torpedoes,  or  sunken  charges  ?  That  is  to  say,  how  such  charges 
may  be  brought  under  the  hostile  vessels,  which  it  is  purposed  to  de- 
stroy ?  Lieutenant  Bolton  proposes  defending  rivers  by  anchoring 
across  the  channel  to  be  defended,  a  row  of  torpe<l:es,  i.  e.,  tin  cans,  or 
waterproof  casks  or  boxes,  containing  a  charge  of  powder,  connected 
with  one  on  shore  by  a  galvanic  wire,  and  sunken  a  few  feet  below  the 
water  level.  These  he  proposes  to  place  sufficiently  close  together  to 
prevent  any  vessel  (ascending  or  descending.)  from  crossing  this  wire 
without  being  at  some  time,  immediately  over  one  of  them.  (.)ne  tor- 
pedo every  «Ji)  feet  would  suffice.  This  would  give  \o  for  every  hun- 
dred yards  of  channel  to  be  defended.  It  would  not,  however,  b6  safe 
to  trust  to  one  line,  because  the  hostile  squadron,  informed  that  such 
obstructions  existed,  might  send  out  boats  to  grappfe  for  them.  The 
first  boats  crew  which  reached  one  of  them  could  be  easily  destroyed, 
but  the  steamer  or  steamers  might  follow  safely  over  where  the  explo- 
sion had  taken  place.  If  this,  however,  only  brought  the  first  vessel 
on  to  a  second  line,  where  she  Avas  destroyed,  it  is  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  those  following  would  proceed  no  further — a  third  and  even 
fourth  line  would  obviously  be  proportionally  more  effective.  It  will  be 
readily  understood  that  a  line  of  torpedoes,  if  protected  by  the  fire  of 
a  battery  from  the  shore,  would  not  be  in  danger  of  being  fished  up 
by  small  boats,  but  still  without  a  second- line,  after  the  destruction  of 
one  vessel  others  might  pass  up  or  down.  Of  course  wherever  there 
were  batteries,  lines  of  torpedoes  would  be  very  desirable,  but  some  of 
their  chief  advantages  are  that  they  can  be  placed  where  there  are  no 
batteries — that  such  lines  can  be  easily  established  with  comparative 
secrecy,  and  that  position  easily  shifted  when  required.  "Wherever  a 
strong  battery  hi,  erected  the  enemy  is  very  apt  to  know  its  where- 
abouts, and. therefore  to  attempt  to  take  it  from  the  land  side  unless 
protected  by  strong  works,  a  large  force  or  natural  inaccessibility  of 
position,  which  inaccessibility,  is  mostly  incompatible  with  accessibil- 
ity for  the  heavy  material  required.  For  this  latter  reason  it  most  ^ 
frequently  happens  that  on  a  river  like  the  Mississippi,  batteries  can- 
not be  placed  on  wh-^.t  would  be  the  most  effective  sites,  with  reference 
only  to  the  channel,  but  the  land  conformation  and  the  tneans  of  access 
to  it,  have  also  to  bo  taken  into  consideration.     Again  a  battery  once 


rrectcil  cannot  bo  easily  shifted;  finally,  on  any  point  of  a  long  ■wa- 
ter course  patrolo'l,  so  to  say,  (as  the  Mississippi  is  at  present.)  by 
the  enemy,  a  battery  attempted  to  bo  established  on  its  bank,  unless 
of  strength  adetiuate  to  bar  a  passage  to  the  hostile  squadron  and  fully 
completed,  -svould  be  useless,  it"  discovered,  and  attacked  before  such 
completion. 

Four  objections  may  bo  urged  to  giving  this  system  of  defense  a 
trial:  Firstly — The  large  expenditure  involved  in  attempting  a  mode 
of  defense  which  had  not  yet  been  practically  proven.  Secondly — The 
large  quantity  of  powder  it  requires.  Thirdly  :  The  weight  of  the 
materi;il.  And  foiirthly — The  liability  of  torpedoes  to  be  washed 
away. 

In  reply  to  objection  the  first,  it  may  be  answered  that  a  very  small 
expenditure  would  demonstrate  the  power  of  charges  thus  tired.  For 
instance,  a  strong  raft  of  heavy  hewn  timber  might  be  framed  at  a 
trifling  expense,  superior  in  strength  to  the  most  solid  naval  construc- 
tion. One  torj)edo,  exploded  thereunder,  would  settle  this  question. 
A  single  galvanic  battery,  involving  a  cost  under  §100,  and  half  a  mile 
of  wire  (which  if  tiie  experiment  failed  would  not  be  wasted,)  would 
ButEce  to  test  the  distances  at  which  charges  could  be  fired,  the  cer- 
tainty with  which  they  could  be  fired,  as  the  operator  might  ignito 
pucceSiSfully  several  hundred  musket  cartridges,  and  (by  so  doing  after 
the  wire  had  been  for  several  weeks  immersed  in  water,)  prove  the 
feasibility,  or  rather  his  proficiency  in  isolating  it.  It  is  worth  while 
to  remark  in  this  connection,  that  the  **  ram, "  though  constructed 
some  years  ago  by  the  French  and  British  (governments,  was  never 
actually  tested  until  the  experiment  made  by  the  "  Virginia,''  and  that 
no  one  knew  or  could  know  whether  two  thicknesses  of  ordinary  rail- 
roail  iron,  would  resist  heavy  shot  at  certain  distances,  till  this  was 
tried  in  the  iron  battery  in  Charleston  harbor. 

In  reply  to  the  second  objection,  it  may  be  stated  that  this  system, 
according  to  present  calculation,  requires  about  3-4  ton  for  each  line 
in  every  hundred  yards  of  the  channel  to  be  defended.  •  Supposing  three 
lines,  this  gives  2  1-4  tons  powder  for  every  100  yards.  Now,  as  this 
system  rif  defense  can  be  applied  wherever  the  channel  is  most  favor- 
able, on  even  the  largest  rivers,  points  may  be  selecte<l  Avhere  that 
channel  is  not  over  500  yards  in  width.  This  would  require  between 
twelve  and  thirteen  tons  of  powder.  If  we  take  the  comparative  ex- 
penditure of  powder  in  batteries,  the  smallest  charges  for  guns  of  that 
description,  average  8  lbs.  eaeli,  and  the  smallest  supply  to  each  aun 
would  be  lon  rounds  (in  fact  from  400  to  bOO  rounds  are  the  ordinary 
estimate  in  Europe,  and  in  the  old  United  States  service).  This  is, 
therefore,  the  amount  of  powder  that  would  be  required  for  100  charges 
each  for  30  guns.  But  such  guns  it  is  known  have  no  effect  on  vessels 
even  like  the  "  Monitor,"'  and  it  is  known  that  the  enemy  are  build- 
ing boats  of  superior  strength  to  hers,  though  of  course  without  cor- 
responding solidity  below,  which  corresponding  solidity,  even,  would 
not  save  her  from  the  blast  of  submarine  batteries.  It  is  in  the  next 
place  to  be  remarked  that  this  powder,  if  not  actually  used  in  the  de- 
struction of  a  hostile  craft,  is  not  expended,  but  preserved  in  t^ood  con- 


dition  for  any  future  use,  ■whereas,  a  large  proportion  of  that  used  by 
most  cflective  batteries  i.s  certainly  wasted.  Again,  if  it  be  not  (as 
it  ought  not  to  be  for  so  important  an  object,)  a  question  of  cconcany 
and  cost,  but  only  of  economy  of  materhil,  the  same,  and  better  results 
may  be  obtained  by  the  use  of  gun-cotton,  -wliich  Lieutenant  Bolton 
has  ascertained  by  consultation  with  manufacturers  and  chemists,  may 
be  manufactured  from  material  attainable  within  the  Confederacy,  and 
without  materially  interfering  Avith  the  production  of  gunpowder. 

In  reply  to  objection  third,  "  with  regard  to  the  weigtit  of  material," 
it  may  be  stated  that  although  great,  it  is  much  less  than  that  of  any 
battery,  l)ut  especially,  offers  this  advantage,  that  as  (where  water 
transportation  cannot  be  obtained.)  the  chief  objection  to  the  weight 
of  guns  consists  in  the  impossibility  of  dividing  that  weight,  thereby 
offering  great  diflSculties  to  their  transportation  by  ordinary  roads, 
through  swamps,  etc.,  and  occasioning  almost  insuperable  obstacles  to 
this  being  done  cither  promptly  or  Avith  secrecy.  .Now  the  weight  of 
all  the  material  recjuired  for  a  line  of  torpedoes,  is  so  divisible  as  to 
be  easily  carried  on  horse  or  mule  back  or  even  by  hand.  That  ma- 
terial consists  of  wire,  of  powder,  of  the  cases  in  which  it  is  submerged, 
of  rope  for  anchoring  them,  of  tools,  of  two  or  three  light  boats,  all 
of  which  may  be  divided  into  parcels  not  weighing  over  fifty  or  si.\ty" 
pounds  each,  including  even  the  means  of  anchorage,  by  use  of  crates 
or  boxes  filled,  on  the  spot,  with  stone,  gravel  or  mud  even,  as  cir- 
cumstances will  allow. 

As  far  as  regards  objection  fourth,  with  respect  to  the  liability  of 
torpedoes  to  be  washed  away,  it  may  be  stated  that  though  this  might 
occasionally  occur,  it  would  be  immediately  noticed  and  could  be  easily 
remedied  by  the  operators,  these  torpedoes,  from  their  lightness,  being 
easily  refished  or  replaced  by  others,  b}'  use  of  a  light  boat  oV  two, 
unlike  heavy  obstructions  which  require  the  assistance  of  towage, 
large  craft,  heavy  cables,  and  much  time  and  work,  to  restore  them  to 
their  place,  wherever  this  can  be  done  at  all,  and  which  being  the  re- 
sult of  long  and  practiced  labor,  there  is  not  either  time  or  the  neces- 
sary material  to  renew.  A  brief  description  of  the  modus  operandi  in 
laying  these  lines  across  a  river  like  the  Mississippi,  or  any  other  oc- 
cupied by  the  enemy,  will,  of  course,  render  needless  any  explanation 
of  mode  of  laying  them  to  defend  water  courses  not  occupied  by  the 
enemy,  the  additional  facilities  of  which  obviously  suggest  themselves. 
The  operator  trains  some  twenty  assistants  to  the  proficiency  of  ignit- 
ing charges  with  cer\ainty,  of  keeping  the  torpedo  water-proof,  and 
keeping  up  the  insulation  of  the  wire.  This  proficiency  in  the  art 
may  be  obtained  in  much  shorter  period  than  is  required  to  prepare 
and  test  that  wire,  and  to  construct  the  galvanic  battery,  etc.,  and  to 
this  point  Lieutenant  Bolton  is  satisfied  fifteen  days  Avould  suffice  for 
men  of  ordinary  zeal  and  intelligence,  volunteering  for,  and  obtained 
for  that  purpose.  This  (making  due  calculation  for  sickness,  etc.,) 
would  always  leave  time  sufficient  to  establish  at  four  different 
points,  station,  of  three  operators,  who,  relieving  each  other,  would 
be  permanently  on  duty  the  whole  twenty-four  hours.  We  now  sup- 
pose the  point  on  the  river  selected,  to  establish  a  treble  line  of  these 


torpodoos,  each  lino  con?istinir  of  charges  placed  c\  evy  twenty  feet 
across  the  width  of  the  channel  to  be  defended.  On  the  bank,  con- 
cealed in  -wood  or  swamp,  is  sunk  in  the  ground  or  marsh,  a  box,  a  few 
feet  square,  caulked,  if  necessary,  and  protected  by  a  roof,  from  which 
the  operator  and  his  two  assistants  (or  the  one  on  duty  there)  work 
the  galvanic  battery.  This  box,  covered  by  brush,  cannot  be  per- 
ceived from  the  river.  The  operator  and  such  workmen  as  are  re- 
quired on  this  point,  having  a  secure  means  of  retreat  provided,  can 
operate  up  to  the  last  moment  Avith  the  utmost  confidence.  From  this 
box  a  line  of  wire  conveying  the  electric  spark  radiates  to  the  three 
lines.  For  every  hundred  yards  of  each  line  there  is  a  separate  wire, 
which,  presuming  five  hundred  yards  to  be  the  width  of  the  channel, 
would  give  fifteen  wires,  which  would  ro(iuire  from  four  thousand  five 
hundred  to  five  thousand  yards  of  wire.  By  means  of  five  floats  of 
various  shapes  and  sizes,  and  which  (from  others  being  scattered 
about)  could  afibrd  no  indication  to  the  enemy,  the  operators  know 
exactly  whei-e  their  torpedoes  are  situated.  By  marks  on  the  oppb- 
site  side  of  the  river,  they  can  easily  and  unerringly  sight  vessels  at- 
tempting to  pass  this  line,  so  as  through  the  instantaneous  rapidity  of 
ignition  which  the  galvanic  wire  allows,  tO'be  sure  to  fire  their  charge 
under  the  approaching  craft,  however  limited  her  length  or  great  her 
speed.  Unlike  a  battery  of  artillery,  the  explosion  of  a  torpedo  affords 
no  indication  of  where  the  blow  comes  from,  and  no  danger  would  be 
incurred  sufficient  to  deter  the  operators  (protected  as  they  would  be 
in  their  their  sunken  box)  b^"-  a  promiscuous  fire,  vaguely  directed  on 
the  adjacent  banks.  As  either  of  these  lines  of  defence  would  be  occa- 
sionally shifted,  as  they  ought  and  would  probably  (if  at  all  adopted) 
be  established  on  several  points  of  important  rivers,  and  as  the  corps 
managing  them  would  sound  and  explore  at  many  points*  where  they 
would  leave  marks  and  floats  for  their  guidance,  the  efi"ect  must  be  to 
keep  the  enemy  in  great  suspense  and  uncertainty  as  to  the  whereabouts 
of  these  lines,  should  even  any  information  thereof  reach  them.  Such 
information  in  possession,  even  of  the  loyal  inhabitants  of  the  banks, 
being  necessarily  only  of  a  vague  character. 

Your  memorialist  is  aware  that  a  few  torpedoes  were  laid  some 
months  ago  in  the  James  river,  but  he  has  reason  to  believe  that  no 
one  has  yet  been  employed  fully  and  practically  skilled  in  firing  them 
by  the  galvanic  battery.  Under  such  circumstances  the  torpedo, 
though  a  most  destructive,  is  a  most  uncertain  means  of  defense,  so 
much  so  as  not  to  justify  much  reliance,  nor  any  large  expenditure 
thereupon,  by  those  charged  with  the  defense  of  inland  waters. 

An  individual  threatened  with  attack  would  Avisely  prefer  a  sword, 
knife,  club,  or  any  weapon  certain  in  its  operation,  to  the  most  destruc- 
tive fire-arm,  which  was  liable  to  miss  fire  in  the  moment  of  mortal 
conflict.  If  forced  to  option  between  the  former  and  the  latter,  he  would 
wisely  select  the  former — if  allowed  both,  perhaps  not  choose  to 
tamper  himself  with  the  latter,  and,  at  least,  only  use  it  as  an  adjunct. 

If,  however,  certainty  of  operation  can  be  combined  with  decisively 
destructive  eff"ect,  the  scheme  of  torpedo  defense,  assumes  a  very  dif- 
ferent character  and  importance, 


Through  this  memorial  your  memorialist  is  eiideiivnring  to  call  at- 
tention to  the  fiict  that  such  certainty  is  attainable  ;ind  to  the  mode  in 
■which  it  may  be  attained.  To  that  certainty  of  operation,  when  di- 
rected by  Lieutenant  Bolton,  and  where  certain  material  was  procura- 
ble, your  memorialist  has  been  personally  a  witness.  He  is  informed 
by  Lieutenant  Bolton  (in  whose  reliability  and  judgment  he  has, 
through  long  experience,  the  highest  confidence,)  that  the  necessary 
material  may  be  here  procured. 

There  are  many  forms  of  varying  ingenuity,  in  which  the  use  of 
the  torpedo  is  proposed,  in  all  of  Avhich  certainty  of  ignition  is  desira- 
ble. 

By  the  simple  scheme  of  rows  of  torpodoes  across  a  channel  (so 
close  to  each  other  in  each  row  that  ascending  or  <lescending  vessels 
must  pass  over  them,)  with  certainty  of  ignition  and  proper  vigilance, 
such  channels  are  clearly  rendered  impassable,  unless  by  the  sole  ex- 
pedient of  clearing  both  banks  of  the  operators. 

It  is  worth  considering  in  this  connection  that  in  any  scheme  of 
defence  by  means  of  plated  vessels,  that  it  is  at  least  questionable 
whether  any  can  be  built  and  floated  to  resist  the  15  inch  and  20  inch 
guns,  (carrying  shot  over  4<)<)  pound  and  1,()U0  pounds,)  which  the 
enemy  is  known  to  have  adopted. 

Your  memorialist,  in  conclusion,  begs  to  explain  that  he  has  been 
induced  at  brief  notice  to  present  this  memorial  by  the  unexpected 
advice,  to  th;it  effect,  from  members  of  your  honorable  body,  to  whom, 
in  the  form  of  notes,  the  document  was  originally  forwarded,  with  a 
letter  which  he  appends  as  explanatory  and  apologetic  of  the  motives 
which  have  prompted  him  to  this  proceeding. 

Very  respectfully. 

C,  F.  HENISINGSEN. 


LETTER  OF  GENERAL  C.  F.  IIENNINGSEX. 

Richmond,  September  27,   1862. 
Hon.  ^Ir.  FoOTK  : 

Df,  \R  Sir  :  I  enclose  a  brief  momorinl  or  explanation  oi  the  subject 
on  which  I  last  spoke  to  you.  My  object  in  forwarding  it  is,  to  re- 
quest th.at  you  will  look  it  through,  at  your  leisure,  so  that  you  can 
advise  me  how  to  proceed  in  the  premises.  I  have  no  motive,  but  a 
purely  patriotic  one,  in  performing  the  irksome  duty  of  emleavoring 
to  call  to  this  matter  the  attention  of  those  whp  may  render  it  ser- 
viceable to  the  country.  After  perusal,  and  such  further  explan^ition 
as  you  may  require,  I  shall  be  thankful,  both  for  your  candid  opin.on 
on  the  value  of  the  proposition  itself,  and  your  advice  as  to  how  best 
to  bring  it  forward.  With  a  like  request  I  gave  Mr,  Boyce  a  copy 
yesteijrtay.  Should  the  occasion  arise,  and  you  tliink  fit,  pray  consider 
yourself  at  liberty  to  show  the  rough  communication  enclosed  to  any 
one  you  may  deem  proper,  making  use  of  my  name  as  endorsing  it, 
if  that  can  be  of  any  service  in  obtaining  an  investigation,  or  trial  of 
the  scheme,  though  I  have  no  ambition  (and  in  ftict  rather  a  disinclina- 
tion) to  obtruding  my  personality  into  the  matter. 

But  in  truth,  with  my  convictions  on  the  subject,  I  feel  I  should 
be  neglecting  my  duty,  if  1  did  not  make  this  effort  to  call  atten- 
tion to  this  means  of  defens"",  even  at  the  risk  of  being  considered 
officious  and  classed  with  the  many  well-intentioned  and  credulous  in- 
dividuals, prone,  wi.hout  sufficient  grounds,  to  father  the  schemes  of 
every  enthusiastic  projector. 

This  will  be  delivered  to  you  by  Lieutenant  Bolton,  C.  S.  A.,  to 
whom  the  enclosed  communication  refers. 

I  am,  dear  sir,  very  respectfully,  yours, 

C.  F.  IIENNINGSEN. 


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